


Commodity

by Keiko Kirin (sakana17)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-12-15
Updated: 2000-12-15
Packaged: 2017-10-03 18:23:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakana17/pseuds/Keiko%20Kirin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teal'c kidnapped, Jack treated like royalty, Sam and Daniel slaves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Commodity

**Author's Note:**

> Content includes allusions to child sexual exploitation. Written for Ruth, Lynn, and Kathy. Thanks to Sandy for helpful comments.

"Well, this makes a change."

SG-1 had stepped out of the stargate more times than Jack could remember, but rarely did the scene on the other side look so welcoming. Flowers everywhere. A fountain, some benches, some palm trees. Sure, they were in the middle of a desert, but there was a city not too far away. There was even, swear to god, a yellow brick road leading from the gate to the city. (Daniel said the road was ochre, but in Jack's opinion, it was yellow.)

Carter and Teal'c sent the MALP home, the team checked around a bit, then started off to see the wizard. They didn't get very far before they found a stone marker covered in pointy chicken-scratch writing. Daniel crouched down and babbled a little about how similar it was to something-or-other Jack didn't catch, stood up and read, "'This way to paradise.'"

Jack looked around again. Welcoming, maybe, but paradise?

"One man's paradise..." Carter murmured.

They came across more stone markers on the way. The next one said: 'Ben Hazeer anticipates your every wish. Alley of the Moon.' Daniel started theorizing on possible meanings, but Jack was more concerned with getting to the city. Daniel's theories got sidetracked when they came to the next marker. It said: 'Every pleasure imaginable awaits. Ask for Ben Adu.' Jack wondered what kind of paradise they were going to.

The last marker was close to the city gate. Jack wanted to press on, but Daniel had to stop and translate: 'At the sign of the black bird, turn left to enter the garden of the naquahdah pagoda.'

"That's nice and cryptic," Jack said.

Daniel brushed his thumb over his chin. "Maybe not. I've been thinking. The signs we passed could be advertisements. Like billboards back on Earth."

Sounded reasonable. But what was a naquahdah pagoda and why was it in a garden?

The city gate was unguarded. The doors opened inward, they stepped inside, and landed right in the middle of Mardi Gras. People everywhere, jabbering and grabbing for them, tossing flowers at them. Welcoming, maybe, in a pushy sort of way. Jack didn't appreciate it. He told the team to stay together and they tried to go forward. Daniel made an attempt to talk to the natives, but didn't make much progress. One of the flowers, a particularly thorny one, hit Jack's nose. He'd had enough of the welcoming party. He raised his gun, not aiming, but trying to look threatening.

"Daniel. Tell them to get back."

"Jack, I haven't heard enough to--"

"Just tell them."

Daniel stepped forward with his hands held out, palms open. "Stand back," he said. Oh, yeah, that'll work, Jack thought. But it did. Some of the flower-throwing crowd moved away. A whole contingent left the street.

"That's better. Okay. Daniel, you find out where we are and why we're so welcome. Carter, Teal'c, you follow me and we'll try to find someone in charge."

"Yes, sir."

Jack looked around. "Teal'c?" He was surrounded by a circle of faces, all smiling and bright eyed. No Teal'c.

Carter braved the crowd, calling for Teal'c. Daniel approached people, gesturing and picking up the native babble.

"Goddammit," Jack muttered. "How could we lose a huge Jaffa and not know it?"

Carter came back. "No sign of him, sir," she said. "But there are several alleys leading off from this street in either direction."

"Daniel? Anything?"

Daniel came jogging back, small boy in tow. "This boy -- his name's Qur -- says he saw Teal'c go down the Alley of the Silver Palm. He agreed to be our guide."

Jack crouched down. The boy looked about ten years old. Tan skin, big dark eyes, a messy mop of black hair. He reminded Jack of a young Skaara. Qur grinned. "You can show us where our friend went?" Jack asked. Qur nodded. "Okay, lead the way."

Some of the remaining crowd tried to follow, but Qur stopped and shouted something at them, and they melted away. "What did he say?" Jack asked Daniel. Daniel gave Qur a puzzled look.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, "but it sounded like he just condemned them all to fat, unfriendly customers. Whatever that means."

Weird. Jack didn't even try to understand that one. No time to puzzle over alien curses. They had to find Teal'c. Not like him to wander off. Qur led them down a narrow, gloomy alley. Jack spotted something across the path, and got that familiar pit in his stomach that told him he wasn't going to like what he saw. Daniel walked ahead, stooped, and picked it up. Teal'c's staff weapon.

The alley was the perfect place for an ambush. Jack and Carter checked the doorways opening out into the alley. The doorways were empty, secure. They jogged to the far end of the alley and peered around the corners. No sign of Teal'c. They went back to Daniel and Qur. Jack crouched down and asked Qur, "What exactly did you see?"

Qur shrugged. "Some men from Azaneem's house talked to Teal'c," Daniel translated as the boy spoke. "They led him to this alley."

Now that was wrong. Teal'c would never go off alone without telling somebody. "Who's Azaneem?" Jack asked. "Can you take us to that house?"

Qur's eyes shifted. He mumbled something. "He says he works for Ben Azaz. He would get into trouble." Daniel looked at Qur with a concerned frown.

Jack rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. Damn, but he reminded Jack of Skaara."We won't let you get into any trouble. Just show us where this Azaneem lives," he said. "It's important we find our friend."

Qur looked into Jack's eyes and set his jaw. He nodded and touched Jack's hand, kind of caressed it. Jack let go and let him lead the way.

Some house. More like a palace. There were orange trees in front, and a huge fountain, and the steps were covered with a purple carpet. Qur stopped at the edge of the fountain. Daniel spoke quietly to him, then turned to Jack. "Qur says he has to go back before someone sees him."

The kid was uneasy. Jack didn't like that, and it made him wonder what kind of work Qur did, but finding Teal'c was top priority. He ruffled Qur's hair and told him, "Thanks. And if you get into any trouble, just come to us. We'll straighten it out." Qur grinned and ran off. They checked around the front of the place, then went inside. There wasn't any door -- just an open doorway with an inscription over the lintel. Daniel paused to read it as they passed through.

"Oh," he said.

"Oh?"

Daniel looked around. "It's a brothel."

Jack stopped. "A what?" He took a good look at the surroundings: large room with plush benches set here and there, a few thin drapes hanging from the ceiling, decorated oil lamps set into the walls. No sign of Teal'c. No sign of anybody. What the hell was Teal'c doing in a brothel?

"Hello," he called out, and made for one of the corridors leading off from the main room. The drape covering another corridor rustled and three men came out. Here we go, Jack thought. The man in front was tall, had on purple robes, and had long black hair tied back with braids. Lots of gold rings on his fingers. Jack didn't like the look of him, didn't trust him. Behind him were two bald guys in white robes -- one thin and wiry, the other musclebound and stocky. Mean-looking, scarred. The tall guy in purple waved his hands around, smiled, and spoke some gibberish. Jack looked at Daniel.

Daniel said something back in the same gibberish. The tall guy placed one hand over his heart and bowed his head. "I am Azaneem. Welcome to my house."

Daniel mimicked the bow. "I'm Daniel. This is Jack, and this is Sam. We're--"

"Everyone is welcome at my house," Azaneem interrupted. "Name your pleasure."

Time to get to business. Jack stepped in front. "Yeah, well, right now, all we want is to find our friend. Big, scary guy. Gold circle on his forehead. Hard to miss. His name's Teal'c." Jack watched the guy's reaction carefully. Azaneem knew exactly who Jack was talking about, Jack was sure.

"We have many here, many," Azaneem said. "Maybe you find your friend, maybe you find another."

Fuck that. "No, we find our friend. Now."

He tried to move past the jerk, but the wiry bald guy blocked the way. Jack checked on Daniel and Carter, just in time to see a group of white-robed bald men come in and surround them. All mean-looking twins of the two hedging Jack in.

"O-kay. Daniel? Talk to them."

But Daniel's attempts to reason with the welcoming party didn't work, and then came the _really_ bad news: underneath those white robes, the bald guys carried zat guns. "Sweet," Jack muttered.

The next bit went quickly. Jack had to hand it to these guys, they worked fast and efficiently. They conviscated the team's weapons and equipment, tossed them into a small, empty room, and put two of the mean baldies in front to guard the doorway. Apparently these people didn't believe in doors. Jack paced around, sizing up the guards and the chances of making a break for it. Sam sat on one side of the room, Daniel on the other.

"Funny, I don't feel very welcome, do you?" Jack said to break the silence. Carter managed a humorless smile. Daniel was engrossed in something on the wall. Jack went over to see. "What's that?"

"Graffitti," Daniel said, tracing the chicken-scratches on the wall with his fingertip.

"Anything useful?" Jack asked.

"Um..." Daniel's brow furrowed as he read the marks. "No."

Jack went over to sit by Carter. He was trying to figure this whole thing out. Why nab Teal'c?

Carter ran a hand through her hair. "It might be another trap set up by Apophis."

The same thought had occurred to Jack. "Or a lucky opportunity," he said.

"How do you mean, sir?"

"Azaneem wants to get on Apophis' good side. Teal'c shows up. Nab the sholva."

There was movement in the corridor beyond the guards. They stood apart and let a young girl carrying a tray of food come in. She knelt in the center of the room and set the tray down. Daniel sat forward, catching her attention.

"Thank you." He smiled at her. Daniel had a smile that could win over any aliens. "Listen." He spoke to her softly. "We need to find our friend. It's very important. Do you understand?"

The girl glanced over to Jack and Carter, then back at Daniel. Guess the smile wasn't working this time. "Let me try," Carter said. She faced the girl. "We won't hurt anyone. We just need to find our friend, then we'll go home."

It was no use. The girl was trying to edge away while Sam and Daniel were being all touchy-feely communicative with her. She was plainly terrified. Jack took off his cap and scratched his head. "Ah hell, this isn't working. Let her go."

The girl looked at him, and her eyes widened and she stared for a moment, then jumped to her feet and ran to the guards. She babbled something, tugging on one man's arm, and pointing at Jack. Carter and Daniel looked dismayed, but Jack was damned if he knew what he did to scare her off.

Whatever it was, it sent the guard away. The other one stayed with the girl, and they stood in the doorway and stared at Jack, who was beginning to wonder if he'd grown a third eye or something. A few minutes later, the first guard returned with Azaneem. Azaneem came in and gave Jack the once-over. He bowed his head and reached down to take Jack's hand. Jack pulled his hand away and stood up.

"My honored guest," Azaneem said, bowing again. "My apologies. You came with weapons, I could not be sure your intentions were peaceful."

_Yeah, I bet._ "And now that you've confiscated our weapons, you can be sure?"

Azaneem flashed a grin. "You must join me at tonight's banquet. Everything I have to offer is available for your pleasure."

"The only thing we want is Teal'c," Jack said. "And our weapons. Then we'll go."

Azaneem gave him a cold look which made Jack dislike him even more. Then he turned on the charm again. "I expect to have good news of your friend at the banquet. Please join me." He held out his hand.

All Jack wanted was to deck the guy and get the hell out of there, but he remembered the nasty little zat guns the guards were carrying. Azaneem probably had one, too, under all that purple. Daniel murmured, "I think we should go."

Carter backed him up. "I think so, too, sir."

Jack didn't like it. Didn't trust this Azaneem more than he could throw him. But they weren't going to find Teal'c by sitting around all day. "Okay," he said.

Azaneem's eyes darted to Carter and Daniel. "Not them," he said crisply. "Just you, my honored guest."

Fuck that. "The name's Jack, and where I go, they go, got that?"

Azaneem gave him a long look and smiled again. Oily bastard. "As you wish."

He took them to another large room all decked out with drapes, pillows, and oil lamps. There was a long, low table in the center covered with food and drink. Guests in robes sat or reclined around it. They all looked up as Azaneem came in, but Jack garnered the most stares. Azaneem took him to a seat at the center of the table, and sat down next to him. The guards made Daniel and Carter sit at the end of the table. Azaneem clapped his hands, and they were served by children carrying heavy dishes and jugs. The guests started talking. Great party, all right. Jack looked for two things: Teal'c, and ways out. No Teal'c, and the doorway was guarded by the bald uglies.

Jack ate a little food -- ever since Argos, he didn't entirely trust alien food -- and drank a little water. Relieved that it was just water, and not something with a kick. He had almost forgotten they were in a brothel until he noticed the guests getting more frisky with each other, giggling, kissing, touching. Some of them even touched the serving children in ways that made his gut tighten.

Jack turned to Azaneem. "You said you had news about Teal'c."

Azaneem smiled and touched Jack's forearm. "Ah, of course. In good time. But first, may I extend to you my invitation to stay at my house for a long and fruitful visit?"

Jack pulled his arm away. "We're not staying anywhere." He checked the end of the table, half expecting to see Azaneem's guests pawing at Carter and, god help the poor guy, Daniel. Instead, they were sitting alone, away from the other guests. Behind them stood two guards.

"That saddens me to hear," Azaneem said. "Because, of course, if you must depart, I cannot share any news of your friend."

_Wrong answer, pal._ Jack stood up. "Daniel. Carter. I've had enough of this." He counted on the element of surprise, and they got as far as the doorway before the guards were pinning them in and reaching for their zats. Azaneem, all huffy and indignant, and got right up into Jack's face.

"As I said," he murmured coldly, "I extend to you my invitation for a long, fruitful visit." And before Jack could mutter "fuck that," he felt the all-too-familiar electroshock twinge of a zat.

\-----

Water. Rain? An awful lot of it. Cold, too. Annoying. Daniel opened his eyes and squinted as more of it poured down his face. He wiped at his eyes with one hand, registered that his glasses were missing, and saw that it was not rain, but a young girl holding a larger earthenware pitcher which was the cause of the downpour.

"Hello," he ventured in his best make-friends-with-the-aliens voice. She frowned and tossed the remaining contents of the pitcher at him, splattering his face and chest. Then she ran off.

Okay. She wasn't quite ready to make friends yet. Daniel wiped his face again and took stock of his slightly out-of-focus surroundings. Last thing he remembered, they were in the banquet hall facing a circle of zat-carrying guards after Jack's woefully ill-conceived attempt to escape. Not that it wasn't predictable, but still ... Jack might have waited until they were finished eating.

He was definitely not in the banquet hall now. He was in a narrow, long room, with stone benches running along opposite walls. He was sitting -- more accurately, propped up -- on one bench, and he was naked. Oh great. From the amount of water pooled around him, more than one pitcher had been emptied on him. He looked around for a towel, and, finding none, got up from the bench and ventured carefully to the room's open doorway. Beyond was a huge chamber, crowded with people at various tasks: scrubbing cloths, rinsing jugs and plates, stirring something in large ceramic vats. He realized the large stone circle in the center of the room was a well or pool, as people came up to it to fill pitchers and bowls with water.

He checked around the doorway, but couldn't see any clothes or fabric handy. Okay, well, he was just going to have to brave it. His clothes had to be around here somewhere. He took a deep breath and stepped out from the doorway. "Uh, hello?"

A girl -- from her size and shape she might have been his friend with the pitcher -- looked up from her washing and called out, "Nazeer!"

Daniel took a step forward just as a tall, bulky man swooped toward him and pushed him roughly back into the bench room. "Here," the man said, thrusting a bundle into his hands. "Get dressed and report to me."

"Um, how will I know--" But before he could finish his question, the man had lumbered off.

The clothes were simply made and kind of drab. They reminded Daniel of Abydonian dress, a reminder which triggered a familiar, predictable twinge of grief, guilt, and longing. He focused on the situation at hand, his coping mechanism, and slid into the tunic and robe which were way too big for him. He wasn't a small man -- he wasn't much shorter than Jack -- but, hell, Teal'c would have been lost in these clothes. Thinking about Teal'c brought him firmly back to the present. He had to find Jack and Sam, and they had to find Teal'c.

He emerged from the bench room, waited to see if any guards were going to grab him, and when they didn't, made for the doorway on the other end. He was almost to the center of the room when a hand gripped his arm and pulled him back. He spun around, expecting a guard and finding instead the girl with the pitcher.

"You go to Nazeer," she said, tugging on his arm.

"No," he said, trying to shake off her tight grip. "I have to find my friends first."

She peered up at him curiously, frowning. "Friends ... You mean the ones at the banquet? The strangers?"

"Yes. Do you know where they are?" Daniel asked excitedly.

The girl curled her upper lip in a sneer. "The female woke up before you. Nazeer has already given her her duties."

Daniel's excitement dissipated, although this wasn't bad news. This might mean Sam was nearby, maybe even in this room somewhere. "And what about my other friend?" he asked.

The girl's look changed to one of reverance. She lowered her eyes. "The honored guest is with our master, of course."

"With Azaneem?"

"Yes," she said curtly, and tugged on his arm again. "Now you go to Nazeer before we're both beaten for laziness."

Going to Nazeer might be better than being beaten, but Daniel wasn't one-hundred percent sure of this. Nevertheless, he knew more now than he had before, and he had hopes of finding Sam. Together they could find Jack, at least. Maybe even find Teal'c. He let himself be led across the room by the girl.

"What's your name?" he asked. "I'm Daniel."

She spared a sideways glance up at him. She looked about twelve, dark-skinned and dark-eyed, with long black hair pulled back in a lop-sided, tangled braid. "I'm Turqumadi," she said at last, face and voice hard. Harder than a twelve-year-old's should be, thought Daniel.

Nazeer was lounging on a bench, picking at his fingernails, when they approached. Without looking up he sent Turqumadi away. Daniel stood and waited, glancing around to see if he could spot Sam anywhere. Finally Nazeer gave Daniel an assessing once-over, sniffed derisively, and said, "What work do you do?"

"I'm an archaeologist. I'm Daniel Jackson, and--"

Nazeer held up one chubby hand to stop him. "I know nothing of that, and your name matters nothing to me. What _work_ do you do?"

"I just told you," Daniel replied in clipped tones, forming a hatred for this man already.

Nazeer glared at him, dark eyes cold as ice. Then he sniffed again and went back to picking his fingernails. "You can clean out the privy chambers until you learn how to address me."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "Look," he said. "I don't know what's going on here, or who you are, so I'm sorry if I've given offense in some way. I'm just trying to find my friends. The girl said you had already given Sam -- the, uh, female -- her duties. Can you at least give me the same duties, so I can see her?"

Nazeer picked at his thumb a few moments, then flicked him a bored glance. "You talk too much." He gestured with his left hand and a tall, thin man stepped over to his side. "Take this one to the privy chambers."

The man gave Daniel a bored, bland look, and reached for his arm. Daniel backed away, thinking of his next tactic.

"Wait!" a voice pleaded at his side. He glanced over. It was Turqumadi. She knelt in front of Nazeer. "Please, gracious one, send this one to the baths. With Alasqel gone, we need more help there. Please."

Nazeer regarded them both with suspicion. Daniel sensed Turqumadi was doing him a favor, and knelt beside her, lowering his eyes. Turqumadi shot him an unreadable look, but repeated to Nazeer, "Please, oh wise and generous one."

Wise and generous. Daniel refrained from snorting. "Pah," Nazeer grunted. "To the baths then. Much work you'll get from a quahemet like this one." Turqumadi took Daniel's forearm as they rose and led him away. When they were out of the chamber and alone in the corridor, he stopped and thanked her. She said nothing, just urged him on down the labyrinthine hallways until they reached another large room, steaming with humid heat.

Turqumadi left him at the doorway and returned with two buckets of water and two brushes made of coarse bristles set into a clay handle. She took her bucket and brush and walked to the nearest bath, a square sunken pool. When Daniel didn't follow, she looked back and pointed at the other bath. He took his bucket and brush and went over to it. Once she was busy scrubbing out her pool, he reasoned, he could slip away and find Sam and Jack. Although he had no idea where to even begin looking.

The bath was still full of water. Daniel stood at the edge and gave Turqumadi a questioning look. She pulled off her robes. Before she slid into the pool, he noticed the criss-cross pattern of scars on her back. Being beaten was no idle threat, then. She disappeared under the water, and a moment later resurfaced. "There is a handle at the bottom. Pull it up and the water drains." She flashed a smile at him -- startlingly childlike coming from her hard, old-beyond-her-years face. "You get a nice soak before it's all gone."

Daniel stripped -- well, she'd already seen it all earlier, anyway -- and climbed into the bath, found the handle and pulled. The water _was_ nice and hot, and if he hadn't been worrying about little things like finding his friends and getting out of this place alive, it would have been relaxing. He heard a skiff-skiff sound from the other bath; Turqumadi was already scrubbing at the tiled walls of the pool.

He considered his plan once more. He had no idea where to look, and his chances of finding Sam if he stayed with Turqumadi were better than if he struck out on his own. If the guards found him wandering off and zatted him into oblivion, he wasn't going to be much help in finding Teal'c and getting away. And if he snuck off now, Turqumadi would have to clean both pools alone. Might even get fresh scars as a reward for losing him. Daniel reached for the brush and started scrubbing.

He waited until he'd found a good rhythm for brushing the scum off the tiles before speaking. "Why did you help me? Back there, with Nazeer."

She didn't answer. He rinsed his brush in the bucket and started on another section of tile. "What's a quahemet?"

Turqumadi snorted. "Something useless. Something you'll be if you keep trying to talk to Nazeer like that."

Daniel sighed impatiently. "Yes, I got that, but what does the word mean, exactly? I'm interested in words."

"It's a man without balls."

"Oh." Daniel scrubbed vigorously at a particularly encrusted piece of tile. "You know," he said after a while, "you can trust me. I don't want to get you into trouble or anything, but I need your help finding my friends. Will you help me?"

He heard splashes as Turqumadi threw water at the walls. He heard more sounds which he couldn't identify, then the sound of pouring water. He ran his brush back and forth over the tiles in front of him, startled when Turqumadi hopped into the empty pool next to him.

"Look at this! You've only got one side done. You're worse than a quahemet," she muttered, picking up her brush and starting to work on another wall. Together they scrubbed until it was done, and Daniel found out that Turqumadi's definition of clean didn't match his own, although it made the work go faster. They splashed the walls with the water from the bucket, which Daniel found out he shouldn't have been rinsing his brush in, and she showed him where the levers were to fill the pool again. They climbed out of the bath, and Daniel got dressed. Turqumadi sat on the side of the pool and dangled her legs in the rising water. He watched her, sat down beside her, and waited.

"I'll help you," she said finally. "If you help me."

"I will, if I can."

She gave him a skeptical look, then seemed to decide he was her best bet for whatever it was she needed. "I know where the female is," she said. "Nazeer doesn't want you to see her. I think our master ordered it. But I can take you there later, when Nazeer is busy."

Daniel nodded. "Thank you."

"The other ... the honored guest ..." Daniel wondered why Jack was an honored guest while _he_ was scrubbing scum off tiles. "I don't know where he is, but I can find out."

"And Teal'c? The friend we came looking for? He's a big man, darker skin than yours, a gold symbol on his forehead."

She shook her head. "The Jaffa. I heard rumors, but I don't know anything. It's our master's business."

Daniel nodded again, disappointed. "What do you need my help with?"

Turqumadi gave him a shy look. "I wish to meet your friend. The honored guest."

"Of course you can, if you find out where he is and take me there." Daniel paused, puzzled by her look. "Why him specifically?"

Turqumadi looked at him as if he had just asked the stupidest question in the universe. "Is he very old?" she asked.

Daniel smiled in spite of himself, thinking of Jack's reaction if he heard this question. "No, not very old." She looked crestfallen.

"Oh," she said, bumping her heel against the side of the pool. "But he is older than you?"

"Yes," Daniel replied, still wondering about this line of questioning. "He's in his forties. About forty-four, I think." He stopped to tally up years and dates. "Forty-five."

"Forty-five," she gasped, eyes widening. "Really? That is very old."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Is it?" He recalled the people he had met and seen so far. It was hard to gauge some people's ages, but now that he thought about it, they did all seem to be younger than Jack, and most of them seemed to be younger than himself.

Turqumadi was tracing out a symbol on the floor with one finger. "And he is very strong?"

"Yes." Daniel had no hesitation there.

She sat up straight and threw out her chest, and ran her hands over the very subtle curves of her developing breasts. "Do you think he would like me?" she asked, looking down at her chest. Daniel suddenly sensed where the conversation was going and winced. She gave him a sharp look when he didn't answer. "Does he like women?"

"Um, yes ... Look, Turqumadi, where we come from--"

She cut him off with a giggle. "He can give me a great child, a strong child. And if he favors me, Azaneem will make me one of the chosen ones. Even if I'm not chosen, my strong child will be." Before Daniel could say anything, she was up and getting dressed, smiling and looking like the child she was. The child she wasn't, he corrected himself. She put the buckets and brushes away and skipped into the corridor, and Daniel followed, an empty pit forming in his stomach that had nothing to do with hunger.

\-----

If the situation hadn't been so bad, it would have been funny. Peeling potatoes. One of the Army's biggest cliches. Except these weren't any potatoes Idaho or Ireland would recognize, and she wasn't in the Army. Sam ran her knife along the thick yellow skin of the oblong vegetable (fruit? who could tell?) and grimaced as its acidic juices leaked onto her fingers, stinging the open cuts she'd earned while still learning the ropes. At least the juice wasn't poisonous. Or didn't seem to be, at any rate.

As she guided the knife over the vegetable, having gotten the hang of removing the peel with one long, careful cut, she glanced up and scanned the doorway for Daniel. She didn't have much hope, but she had some. She didn't know why the tall, thin man who had slid next to her and whispered, "Your friend, the young one, is near," would lie to her, but so far, their dealings with these aliens hadn't done a lot to instill a sense of trust. The man had drifted away before she could ask more, and that had been hours ago. Hours and countless mounds of yellow vegetables ago.

"Damn!" she whispered, and dropped the knife. She sucked on the new cut on her ring finger, and caught the stern, disapproving glare of the woman across from her. There were eleven of them in this dark, stuffy room, all working on peeling or cutting different vegetables, but this woman had been giving Sam the evil eye all day, and Sam was tired of it. She returned with a glare of her own, which made the woman sniff in contempt. So much for making allies.

Where was Daniel, dammit? He was the one good at this. Not that Sam didn't try -- and sometimes succeed -- to communicate, but she was out of her element when everyone around her so obviously distrusted, or disliked, her. When she had tried to talk to them, they had ignored her, and she wasn't sure they understood her, although she had understood the thin man, whose words of promise were now seeming so empty.

And she had understood Nazeer, the fat guy with the attitude, as she could imagine the Colonel calling him, when Nazeer had sneered at her and called her bony and sentenced her to work in the kitchen. She had envisioned a room like the one with the well, only full of pots and pans and delicious smells, and it hadn't sounded so bad at the time. But it turned out the kitchen was a network of rooms like this one, and she had the luck, probably bad luck, to be sent to the peeling room. After this, she would never peel another vegetable again. The skins were good for you, anyway.

Peel gone, she dropped the vegetable into the basket with the others, and picked a new one from the pile at her elbow. She had just cut into it when a brown hand covered hers. She looked up. It was the woman with the evil eye. Sam braced herself for a fight, and gripped her knife tightly. The woman noticed, shook her head, and indicated the doorway with her eyes. Sam glanced over. "Daniel," she whispered, flooded with relief. She started to get up, but the woman gripped her hand and forced her down. In the doorway, Daniel shook his head. He carefully looked around before ducking into the room. She caught sight of a young girl standing in the doorway before the girl slipped out of view. The woman let her go and went back to peeling her vegetables.

Daniel squeezed onto the bench beside her. "How are you?" she whispered, taking in his appearance: face a little grimy, glasses missing, wearing a robe at least five sizes too big for him, otherwise unscathed.

"Fine," he said shortly, looking around the room. He faced her and squinted a little, and she guessed he was doing the same kind of assessment of her: probably grimy, definitely sweaty, wearing a robe that fit all right aside from being about a meter too short for comfort. What she wouldn't give for her fatigues right now. "I'm okay," she said. "A few knicks and cuts, that's all."

"Good." He smiled at her. "Have you seen Jack?"

Sam wiped her forehead with her palm. "No. And I can't get anyone here to talk, but I doubt they know where he is, anyway."

"He's with Azaneem." At her questioning look, he continued, "My friend, the little girl standing watch out there, told me. She says she'll find out where. You'll meet her later. And look, there's something not right about this place ... I've found out a couple of things, and ..." He sighed, as if it was too much to explain. "We just need to find Jack and Teal'c. Figure out how we can help these people."

Sam frowned and glanced around her. "Daniel, I don't get the impression these people want to be helped."

Daniel's look was intense. Whatever it was he'd learned, it was bad. "Maybe not. But we have to figure out something."

"But what--?"

She was cut off by the woman's hands again gripping hers. Sam looked to the doorway, and saw Daniel's friend gesturing. Daniel gave Sam a worried smile, probably meant to be reassuring, and slipped from the room, pausing to whisper to her, "When I find out where Jack is, I'll come get you."

And in the meantime, she had more vegetables to peel. She made a frustrated noise and picked up her knife.

\-----

Maybe this was one of those cultural difference things Daniel could explain. Because in Jack's book, a room with armed guards blocking the entrance was still a prison, even though it was luxuriously decorated and filled with cushions and bowls of fruit, and the prison warden called it a "guest suite". Kept calling Jack "honored guest", too, as if that would make Jack not notice that he was a prisoner. Boy, did he hate that Azaneem guy.

Jack paced around the room, not happy with the layout. One entrance, guarded by three bald uglies sporting zat guns: two on either side of the door and one facing in. Not good odds. No windows. One skylight, not too high up but covered with metal bars and on closer inspection, the bars were pocked with metal thorns designed to dissuade escapees. By way of weapons: only the bowls and cushions. By way of distraction: the walls were decorated with obscene mosaics. Okay, so, his prison was in a brothel. It was still a prison.

There was a large bed in the room, the only furniture, and it was too heavy to budge. Jack kicked it in frustration.

"Honored guest?"

Jack spun around at the voice and saw a young woman kneeling in front of the doorway. She had a wine jug in one hand and what looked like drapes in the other. "Oh, for crying out loud. Stand up, will ya?"

She stood up and smiled nervously. "I brought you these gifts from my master." Jack supposed she meant Azaneem.

"Then you can take them right back to him with my compliments, and tell him he can stuff them up his--"

"But, my lord, oh, wise and noble one--"

Wise and noble. Jack liked the sound of that. Under different circumstances, he'd be flattered. But there was something not right about this place, he could feel it in his gut. And there was something not right about these people. And he wasn't going to feel easy until he had gathered up Daniel and Carter, found Teal'c, and hightailed it back home.

"Okay, okay, just leave them there."

The woman set the jug and cloth down, stood up, and parted her robe, letting it fall from her shoulders. She stepped closer, untying the smock-like thing she was wearing until her breasts were exposed. Her very nice, plump and perky breasts. O-kay. Jack tried to remember if anything at the banquet had resembled Kynthia's marriage cake.

She looked up at him. "If I please you, honored guest, my master has given me, also."

Jack shifted his gaze from her chest and reached for her smock. He quickly tied it up, covering her. Not a good move. She started to cry.

"Hey, hey there," he said. "You please me, really, you do. I just have other things on my mind right now. Any other time, hey, you have my word for it."

She wasn't buying it. She wiped her face, turned on her heel and ran off. _Smooth, Jack. Smooth._ He went back and kicked the bed again.

"Jack?" Jack stared at the bed for a moment. Every time he kicked it, someone came into the room. Handy thing to keep in mind. "Um, Jack?"

Jack turned around to find Daniel, wearing an Abydonian tent, come into the room. Beside him was a scrawny young girl in rags. "I'm an honored guest of Azaneem's," Jack brought Daniel up to speed. "And there's no easy way out of here."

"Yes, I know," Daniel said, coming close. The girl followed. Daniel put an arm across Jack's shoulders and pulled him away. "I found Sam, or at least I found her once, but when we went back for her, she was gone. Haven't found Teal'c, but Turqumadi -- that's Turqumadi, by the way -- said she'd try to find him for us. And we have to do something for these people because--"

"Daniel."

Daniel paused in mid-sentence.

"Breathe, Daniel. It's good for you. Trust me on that."

Daniel breathed out. Jack rubbed his hands together. "Okay. We have Carter--"

"Well, we _did_ have her ..." Daniel interrupted. Jack waved aside his hair-splitting.

"You bring Carter and anything that looks like a weapon and bust me outta this joint."

Daniel's gaze travelled the room and rested on the doorway. "That's one plan, I suppose."

"Correction. That's _the_ plan."

"Those guards are armed with zat guns, you know. Under their robes."

"Oh, I know. I made a play for one. Wasn't his zat gun I got hold of."

"Oh."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Jack winced at the memory. "Woulda made a good offensive move, though, if he hadn't elbowed my jaw at the same time." Jack rubbed his chin and felt the bruise. "So, you clear on this plan? Get Sam, get weapons, get me. Piece of cake."

"Uh-huh." Daniel looked ready to raise some objections -- when _wasn't_ Daniel ready to raise some objections? -- but he had finally noticed that the little girl, Turquwhatever, was tugging on his arm, trying to get his attention. Daniel looked down and she bent up and whispered something to him. Daniel gave Jack an odd, sort of apologetic look. "She wants to touch your hair."

Jack's hand shot to the back of his head. "My hair? Why?"

"She thinks it's good luck. Can you just do it, please? I sort of promised her ..."

Jack raised an eyebrow at him but crouched down so the girl could reach. She gingerly touched his head with one finger, then giggled. The giggle made her look really young. He tried to guess her age. Ten, eleven? He smiled at her and said, "I'm Jack."

Her eyes widened. "Turqumadi," she whispered. Then she reached over with both hands and rubbed his hair. The way kids pet shaggy dogs.

"Turqu--" Jack tried.

"--madi," she prompted.

"How about if I just call you Maddy?" She giggled again. "Okay, Maddy it is. Ouch, watch the fingernails, Maddy. That's only my scalp under there."

Her rubbing changed, became stroking. Something wrong about that. Jack tried to ignore it, but the way she was watching him, and the way she was moving closer... Jack shot a look at Daniel, whose pursed lips and wide-eyed expression told Jack that, yes, something was very wrong here. Jack gently gripped Maddy's wrists and lowered her hands. "That's enough luck for today, don't you think?" To Daniel he said, "Something you wanna tell me?"

Daniel crouched down next to him and whispered, "She wants to sleep with you. But that's not the problem. Or, well, no, it's exactly the problem, but it's part of the whole big problem. This isn't just one brothel, it's a whole community, and the rest of the city we saw ... Turqumadi says practically all those buildings are like this one. They're all brothels. This is a prostitution planet. There's more, too." Daniel sighed.

Jack was still taking in "she wants to sleep with you." He looked at Maddy. He held her skinny hands in his. She was just a kid. How could a kid even think about that stuff? Why? He remembered the serving kids at the banquet. He knew why. Kids only learned when they were taught, were shown. He felt a tightness in his gut, and caught up with the rest of Daniel's rambling.

"Prostitution planet?" he asked. "But if everyone here is ... Who are the clients?" But before Daniel could answer -- zat guns. Naquahdah. Teal'c. "Goa'uld."

"Not just them, I think," Daniel said. "From what little Turqumadi can tell me about how Azaneem's house works, it sounds like they get visitors from all sorts of planets. Through the gate."

"That's why the welcome," Jack said. He looked at Maddy again. She wiggled her eyebrows at him in a gesture he supposed was meant to be her come-hither look. It would have been comical if it hadn't been sickening. "Not like the Goa'uld to--"

He was cut off by a loud, angry bark. Azaneem was standing in the doorway, fuming as only that oily bastard could fume, and pointing at Maddy. "Wretch! Disobedient slave!" Maddy tore away from Jack to kneel in front of Azaneem and bow down to the floor. Her shoulders shook. Azaneem curled his lip in disgust. "Go to Nazeer and tell him to beat you until your skin falls off." He kicked her side.

That did it. Jack was up and in Azaneem's face. He poked Azaneem's shoulder with two fingers. "Look, pal, I don't care who the hell you are, you don't kick a little girl like that."

Azaneem glared at him. Oh, he was pissed all right. Didn't like being challenged in front of his guards, no doubt. Not that they were rushing to his side to help him or anything, Jack noted with interest. He stared Azaneem down until the jerk backed off. "As you wish," Azaneem muttered. "But she must be punished. She disobeyed my orders."

"Please, oh generous and merciful master," Maddy begged, bowing down. "It was his friend. He wanted to see the honored guest. I did not know it was wrong."

Azaneem frowned at her, then looked from Daniel to Jack. "His friend?" he asked her.

Maddy nodded. Jack caught the quick look she shot them both but didn't have the foggiest what it meant. "When the heart desires, oh wise and gentle master, the body is helpless to resist. I took pity on his friend, and brought him here. I swear that I did not know it was wrong."

None of that made any sense. Jack kept his attention on Azaneem. And damn if what the girl said hadn't worked on him. Azaneem's face softened, and he gave Jack and Daniel another appraising look. "Ah, I see. Yes." He scowled at Maddy. "You still disobeyed me, wretch, but you will not be beaten. Remember my generosity with gratitude and servility." She nodded, rising to her feet. "Take this one back and report to Nazeer. Go! Get out of my sight."

Maddy reached for Daniel's arm and practically dragged him to the door. "Now hold on," Jack protested, but Daniel shook his head. Jack let them go. He rested his fists on his hips. _Just remember the plan, Daniel._

Something moved in Jack's peripheral vision. Oh yeah, he still had the oily bastard for company. "What do you want?" he asked.

Azaneem sat down on the bed and smiled his oily smile. "A deal. For the Jaffa traitor."

\-----

_You got involved, didn't you?_ Sam could just hear the Colonel's words, could just picture the look on his face, if he could see her now.

When Ms. Evil Eye (unable to determine her name, Sam had resorted to the Jack O'Neill school of epithets) had set aside her peeling and stood up, she had shot Sam a look that could have meant 'follow me'. Or it could have meant 'stay here or I'll knock your teeth in'. See, that was the problem. Sam could tell it was a significant look, she just couldn't tell what the signficance was. No Daniel around just when she needed him. _Hey, Daniel, I could use some cultural interpretation here._ Sam was sick of peeling vegetables, so she decided the look meant 'follow'.

She followed the woman down dark, narrow hallways. Gradually they changed, becoming shiny, smooth marble, with hanging oil lamps overhead. Could be guest quarters. She checked every doorway, looking for Jack.

They stopped at one room, and Sam stole a glance at Ms. Evil Eye. Maybe she was bringing her to Jack, maybe she had understood all along, maybe she was helping. Sam couldn't guess why, but smiled her thanks. The woman just jacked up the intensity of her unfriendly gaze and went inside.

The room was small but nice. A large bed dominated the space, surrounded by cushions and low tables. The walls were covered with colorful drapes. Sam looked around carefully. "Colonel O'Neill?" she called softly.

The woman hissed at her. She knelt next to the bed, and Sam noticed there was someone in it. Another young woman, and she didn't look at all well. Her complexion was sallow, sweat poured down her face, and she writhed in the bed, making soft whimpering noises. Sam approached cautiously.

"Oh, god," she whispered. The sheets around the sick woman's middle were soaked with blood. Sam stepped past Ms. Evil Eye and lifted the sheets back. The sick woman writhed again and a thick stream of blood flowed from her vagina. Sam turned to the woman kneeling beside her. "What's wrong, do you know? Can you understand me?"

The woman glanced at her uneasily, then nodded. "She ... she meant to kill the child," she whispered, staring at her friend on the bed. Sam searched the room and found a jug of water. She pulled down one of the drapes.

"She had an abortion, you mean? When? How long ago?"

The woman shook her head. "Not long. But I knew ... I knew it was dangerous for her. The signs were not good."

Sam ripped the drape in half, and paused by the bed. So much blood. They had to stop the blood. But how? This wasn't her field. Basic first aid, sure, but stop an aborting woman from bleeding to death? "Do you have any doctors here? Any medical people? Healers?"

The kneeling woman looked up at her, eyes hard. "They will not come. She is already old, past her use. She is not worth their time."

Sam bit back the bitter taste in her mouth. "Can you at least try to bring one? Please? I just don't know if I can help."

The woman hesitated, then nodded. "I will try." She stood up. Sam touched her shoulder as she turned.

"I'm Sam. What can I call you?"

"I am Hallawahan," the woman said. She nodded at the bed. "This is Amahil. She is my sister." Then she hurried off. To bring help, Sam hoped. In the meantime, Sam tried to staunch the flow of blood, and pressed a cool, damp length of cloth to Amahil's forehead to bring her fever down. When she had to tear another drape from the wall, she knew the situation was too far beyond her abilities.

Hallawahan returned, alone. "The healer will not come," she said. Sam looked up at her and nodded silently. Hallawahan knelt next to the bed and took her sister's hand.

"I'm sorry," Sam whispered. "I did all I could think of, but I'm not a doctor. Not this kind of doctor. I don't know ..." She fell silent. Hallawahan was weeping, burying her face against her dead sister's shoulder. Sam stood up and walked to the doorway, swallowing hard. She stayed until the weeping was too much, she couldn't bear to listen to it anymore. Hugging her arms, she walked out into the corridor, not knowing where she was going, just needing to get away from that room of blood and grief and failure.

She passed more guest rooms. Some empty, some occupied with young men and women sleeping or grooming or coupling. She automatically checked each room for Jack, wondered where Daniel was now, wondered what she should do next. Finding their gear and weapons seemed the best tactic. Maybe Hallawahan would help her. Maybe not. Sam wouldn't blame her if she didn't.

She registered that the corridor she was in changed slightly, became darker as the marble's colors changed, and fewer oil lamps lit the way. Fewer guest rooms along this passage, too. Sam crept along more cautiously, and checked around her more often. Most of these rooms were empty, and they didn't look like the well-appointed guest quarters she had seen. And then, in one ...

"Teal'c," she whispered, stepping inside. Teal'c was chained to a wall, stripped down to his fatigue pants and stomach bandage. He didn't say anything to her, but lifted his eyebrow and slid his eyes to one side. Too late she realized why. A guard grabbed her arm and pointed a zat at her. Another guard joined this one, and took her other arm. As they dragged her away, she called to him, "I'll find the Colonel. We'll get you out of here." Teal'c bowed his head, but said nothing.

\-----

Jack O'Neill and his great plans. _Get Sam._ Well, Daniel had tried that -- he and Turqumadi had checked every room in the servants' wing and then some -- and had come up empty-handed. _Get anything that looks like a weapon._ The only things that looked like weapons here were the peeling knives in the kitchen and a rolling pin or two. Daniel didn't give them much odds against zats, but he pocketed a couple of the knives anyway and stashed them in the hem of one his sleeves. _Bust me outta here._ Points one and two being less than successful, Jack was just going to have to wait for point three.

In the meantime, Daniel had his own concerns, like how to sleep in a dank, dingy room crowded with fifty or so servants, sleeping on the bare floor. The stench and snoring alone were bad enough, but then there were the other sounds ... ah, yes, the couple over there were very well aquainted. Daniel thought back to Jack's guest quarters, with its huge bed, reserved for Jack alone. 'Honored guest'. When they got off this godforsaken planet, Jack owed the rest of SG-1.

Finally the grunts and moans slacked off. Daniel pulled the robe more snugly around himself and closed his eyes. He was just relaxing into a doze when something hard and pointy nudged his ribs. He frowned and tried to move away from it.

"Quahemet," a voice whispered in his ear. He opened his eyes and blinked in the gloom. Oh, great. Nazeer was leaning over him, breathing into his face, and whatever Nazeer had eaten this evening had had too much onion in it. Nazeer smiled nastily at him.

"Wake up, quahemet," he whispered, and poked a fat finger against Daniel's chest. "I need to teach you a lesson."

Daniel gritted his teeth. "Look. You're the guy in charge. I get that now. Consider the lesson taught." Inside his sleeve, his fingers crept to his hem, found the handle of one of the knives, and started easing it out of the cloth.

"I want to make sure you understand," Nazeer said, poking him again. "Now get up." Around them, a couple of sleepers muttered and squirmed, disturbed by the noise.

Daniel almost had the knife. Just a couple more inches ... Nazeer gripped his shoulder and tried to pull him up. Daniel twisted out his grasp. Almost there ... Another figure appeared next to Nazeer. Daniel squinted. It was the tall, thin man Nazeer had ordered to take Daniel to the privy chambers earlier. The man bent down and whispered something to Nazeer, who stopped encroaching on Daniel's space. Then, without a word, Nazeer stood up and left, followed by the thin man. Daniel watched them, puzzled, let the knife slip back into his hem, and tried to get comfortable again.

"Are you asleep?"

Daniel sighed. "No, Turqumadi."

"Then you should thank me."

"For what?"

"That was Teliq, my cousin. I asked him to offer himself to Nazeer, so Nazeer would leave you alone."

Daniel opened his eyes. He _hated_ this place. "Thank you, Turqumadi. And thank your cousin."

He felt some rustling at his side. Turqumadi was burrowing next to him. "Your friend ... he likes me?" she whispered.

Daniel formed an explanation in his mind, how to tell her that in their world what she wanted wasn't right, wasn't their custom, and that things in her world needed to change, so she wouldn't have to be a slave, wouldn't have to believe that all she had to offer was her body. In the end, he just said, "Yes. Yes, he does."

"Good," she murmured sleepily. "His naquahdah pagoda must be very fine. I will have a strong child, I will be chosen."

Daniel frowned. "What's a naquahdah pagoda?"

Turqumadi giggled. "The thing between your legs, of course, when it's strong and high." She squirmed until her head was resting on his shoulder. "Although with you," she added in a low whisper, "maybe not. Maybe a pagoda of wet clay." Then she giggled again, a teasing little girl's giggle.

Daniel shut his eyes and rubbed them. He hated, absolutely hated, this place.

\-----

Jack kicked the bed again. Okay, maybe it had just been a coincidence the day before. He wandered around his prison again, smiled nicely at the ugly guards, checked the hallway for signs of Sam and Daniel, and wandered back to the bed. From one of the bowls he plucked a piece of fruit at random and bit into it. Not bad. A little sour. He sat on the bed and ate the fruit down to its pit, then tossed the pit into the air and caught it with one hand. He tried juggling it.

"Jack?"

The pit fell to the floor. Daniel stepped into the room, checking over his shoulder. Jack stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Well, I see my plan worked."

Daniel came close. Too close, in Jack's opinion, but he had that serious, wide-eyed look that told Jack to listen.

"Don't hit me," Daniel said quietly.

"What?"

"Don't hit me."

"I'm not going to hit you."

"You might."

"I won't. What the hell is--"

_\--going on?_ He failed to ask because Daniel kissed him. Square on the lips. Smack. Just like that. And not a little peck, either. In fact, Jack was starting to wonder if tongues were going to be involved when Daniel stopped.

"Uh ..." Jack said. "Uh ... uh?"

Daniel got even closer. "Just ... just hear me out. Trust me." He placed a hand on Jack's hip. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Daniel. Are you feeling okay?"

"This was the only way I could get to see you. Yesterday, what Turqumadi said to Azaneem ... He thinks we're lovers. As long as this is all the guards think we're doing, I can stay, but it has to look convincing," Daniel whispered hurriedly in Jack's ear. And then he kissed that spot on Jack's neck which was hard-wired to his groin, goddamn Daniel's luck. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," Jack muttered. "But if you kiss me there again, I'll break your legs."

Daniel gave Jack a sideways look. "Oh. Sorry."

Jack took a breath, reviewed the situation, caught the curious look of the guard watching the room, and patted Daniel's back. "It's okay. Now what?"

Daniel kept his head bent low, as if he were necking, and whispered, "Turqumadi suggested ... They gave you some robes to wear?"

"Yes."

"She suggested I dress you." Jack shot him a look. Daniel widened his eyes. "It's what they do here. It'll give us time to talk without looking suspicious."

"To them, maybe," Jack said under his breath. "I take it this involves you undressing me?"

"Well, yes." Daniel slipped his hand into Jack's hair. "I'm no more comfortable with this than you are, believe me."

Jack glanced meaningfully at Daniel's wrist. "That's open for debate."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "Jack," he said crisply, quietly, "you do _not_ want to hear her other suggestion, okay?"

Jack tilted his head. Thought about it. "Yeah, okay. What do I do?"

Daniel let out a breath. "Basically, you just stand here. But it couldn't hurt if you, uh, touched me once in a while. Make it seem like you're enjoying this."

Jack raised his eyes heavenward and wished, for about the millionth time in twenty-four hours, they had never come to this damned planet. Daniel got the robes the buxom babe had left and started fussing with them, laying them out over the bed. He faced Jack and started unbuttoning Jack's shirt.

"I couldn't find Sam," he murmured. "We looked everywhere. Turqumadi is going to ask around. And, Jack, I should warn you -- she's serious about wanting to sleep with you. She made me promise to bring her to you."

Jack swallowed against the sick feeling in his gut. "Daniel ..."

"I know, I know. But it's the only way she'll help, if she thinks that's what's waiting for her. We have to do something for these people." Daniel slowly slid Jack's sleeves off his arms, then moved behind him to take the shirt completely off.

"Well," Jack sighed. "You're right about it being a prostitution planet. And not just for snakeheads, either, although they're big customers. I had a chat with Azaneem yesterday. Great guy," Jack said drily. "He's offered to give me Teal'c if I ..." Jack paused, recalling his conversation with Azaneem.

Daniel untucked Jack's t-shirt. "If you what?" he asked, looking at Jack curiously. Jack lifted his arms.

"If I, well, stud for him," Jack spoke into the cotton as Daniel pulled the t-shirt off. "Sleep with the girls he picks out, make babies."

"Oh. Yes. That makes sense." Daniel knelt down and started untying Jack's boots.

Jack frowned at the top of Daniel's head. "Not to me it doesn't."

"Age is revered here. It's a sign of strength, healthiness, longevity. That's why you're the honored guest and all the rest of us are slaves." Jack caught a hint of something in Daniel's voice -- maybe a whiff of indignation with a smidgen of envy? "They even have a saying about it."

Jack lifted his right foot as Daniel prised the boot off. "What saying?" he asked.

Daniel glanced up briefly, looking like he wished he hadn't mentioned it. "'When the hair is grey, the pleasure is lasting'," he quoted.

Hmm, not bad. He'd have to remember that. Under different circumstances ... Jack thought about Maddy. Strike that. He didn't want to remember any of this. He lifted his left foot.

"Uh, Jack?" Jack glanced down. Daniel gave him a googly-eyed look and tilted his head at the door. Oh right, the guards. Had to make it look good. Jack petted Daniel's hair. Daniel scowled at him. Yeah, maybe that was more of a move for a dog. Jack combed his fingers through the short, brown locks. Daniel pulled his boot off and hesitated.

"Think they'll mind if you keep your socks on?"

Jack wiggled his toes in his socks. Had to be pretty stinky by now. "Too bad if they do. Leave the socks."

Daniel, looking very relieved, stood up. He took a deep breath, let it go, and reached for Jack's fly. Jack closed his hand over Daniel's fingers. "Uh, Danny? Couldn't you just put the robes on me now, leave the pants for later?"

Daniel blinked. "Oh. Oh, yes." He went and got the robes, folding one over his forearm as he held up the other. It was short and dark blue. Jack slid his arms through the sleeves.

"And do you have any ideas on how to help these people?" Jack asked. "Because I sure don't, short of rounding up all the guys like Azaneem and tossing them into a pit somewhere."

Daniel drew the robe closed and tied it. "Even if we did, there are guys like Nazeer waiting to take over." He held up the other robe, a long white one with gold designs. "Everyone just accepts the system. It's all they know. Even the children. To change things, we have to change their whole society, their whole outlook." His voice sounded raw. Jack touched his cheek lightly. Daniel looked at him for a moment, then guided Jack into the white robe.

While Daniel worked on the robe, smoothing it and belting it, Jack thought about Maddy, about the little kid who first led them here -- Qur, was it? -- about everything they knew about this awful place. Daniel tied the robe shut. Jack placed a hand over Daniel's. "Or," Jack said quietly, "we bury their stargate."

Daniel gazed at him steadily. Jack continued in a whisper, "Cut off the clients, you cut off the economy. Their society would have to change."

Daniel toyed with the tie, running it through his fingers. His brow furrowed. "But would it change for the better? It might just destroy them."

"Look around you, Daniel. How much worse than this can it get? You have children -- _children,_ for god's sake -- selling their bodies and thinking that's okay. You have guys like Azaneem treating everyone like furniture he can buy and sell and trade. This is slavery of the worst kind. Besides, you think the Goa'uld are gonna be content to just come here and fuck? One day, one of those snakehead system lords is gonna get the bright idea of turning them all into Jaffa or into hosts. Any way you cut it, all I see here is one system of slavery or another."

Daniel stared into Jack's eyes. That intense, _thinking_ look he got. It was all Jack could do not to take a step back. "And destroying their gate? Taking away the only chance off this planet these people have?"

Jack stared right back. "It's not much of a chance if no one is willing to take it, is it? Take away the stargate, and you take away the supply line creeps like Azaneem rely on. That evens the playing field for everyone else, don't you think?"

Daniel frowned, still thinking. Then he reached into Jack's robes and for a moment Jack was completely confused until he remembered why he was wearing the robes in the first place. Daniel's fingers fumbled for his fly. Jack let out a short sigh and guided them. "Just be careful there, willya?"

Daniel was careful. Pretty amazingly careful, for which Jack was eternally grateful. Daniel crouched as he slid Jack's pants off his legs, then stood, folding them neatly. "Well, we won't get anything done until we find Sam and Teal'c and get our stuff back," Daniel said evenly, and Jack wasn't sure if this meant Daniel had agreed to bury the stargate or not. He didn't press it.

Daniel reached into the robes again. Jack held his arms at the elbows. "Uh, I think we can leave those on." Daniel slid his hands free.

"I'll find Sam," he said.

Jack patted his shoulder. "I know you will," he said. He glanced over at the guards. "Now what?"

"I think I should kiss you again."

"Uh, no. Daniel, I'd really rather not--"

_\--kiss you again._ He didn't say because Daniel was planting another one on him. Smack dab on the lips. Powerful kisser, that boy. Which was something Jack figured he'd be happier not knowing.

They broke apart. "Find Carter, I'll keep Azaneem occupied." At the quirk of Daniel's eyebrow, Jack added, "Not like that."

"Oh!" said Daniel, fumbling in his sleeve.

Jack leaned close, tried to make it look like they couldn't bear to part. _God help us all._ "Oh what?"

Daniel pressed something thin and hard into his hand. "I found these knives."

Jack glanced down at the small kitchen knife in his palm. No way he was kissing Daniel again. He might kick him, instead. "Dammit," he muttered. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" He nodded at the guards. "We could have avoided this whole thing."

Daniel lifted his eyebrows. "Against zat guns?" He gave Jack an awkward hug and whispered into his ear, "I hide mine in the hem of my sleeve." Then he pulled away and walked off with a little wave. Jack frowned, turned his back on the doorway, and held out the little knife. _Way to go, Daniel. Wish you'd given me this at the beginning, though._

\-----

_Vegetable, meet knife. Knife, meet vegetable._ Sam looked from one to the other and wondered if she was cracking up. Then she dug the knife into the hard rind and started cutting. The space across from her, where Hallawahan had sat yesterday, was empty. When Sam asked the others about her, no one would speak. But the missing Hallawahan was the least of her problems right now. When Sam had tried to find Teal'c again, she had gotten lost in the endless corridors, run into more bald guards, and had a bruise on her face to prove it. She was just lucky she hadn't been zatted. So, it was back to the vegetables.

She let the vegetable drop into the basket and sat back, wiping her hair back from her forehead. She looked at the doorway and noticed someone lurking there. A little girl. She looked familiar.

The little girl glanced around, then gestured for Sam. Sam got up, taking the knife with her, and went over to her. "You're Daniel's friend, aren't you?"

The girl nodded, eyes darting around the room. She took Sam's wrist. "Come with me. I will hide you, bring Daniel. Hurry!"

Sam didn't need to be urged. She followed the girl, ducking into yet another dark, endless corridor. "Do you know where our other friends are? Jack and Teal'c?"

The girl cast a hard, suspicious look back at her. "I have met Jack," she said coldly. The Colonel must not have made a very good impression, Sam thought. That was odd; he usually hit it off with kids. "The Jaffa, I do not know. No one knows."

Sam stopped and made the girl stop, too. "I do know where he is. Maybe you can show me how to get there. It's past the guest quarters. A sort of dark hallway, with a lot of empty rooms. He's in one of them, chained up, like a prisoner."

The girl looked at her warily. "Yes, I know this place, but ..." she lowered her eyes. It took Sam a moment to realize: the girl was scared.

"It's okay. I can find it again," Sam said, although she wasn't sure she could. They walked on. The corridors twisted and changed, and they were in a familiar place. The girl led Sam to a doorway she knew all too well. "Oh no," she whispered.

The girl looked at her curiously. "It is safe. You can hide here. This room is dead woman's room. No one will come here until the fires purify the air." She tugged on Sam's hand. "Please. Hide."

Sam entered the room, bracing herself to see the dead woman on the bed, all the bloody sheets. But, thank god for small mercies, the bed was empty and had been stripped. The girl took Sam to a small alcove and told her to sit. "Wait. I will bring Daniel." She ran off before Sam could say thanks.

Sam sat down and brought her knees up to her chin. She didn't want to stare at the bed, so she closed her eyes and waited, listening for footsteps, voices. After a long, long while, she heard someone enter, but when she opened her eyes, it wasn't Daniel.

"Hallawahan," she whispered. The woman turned and saw her. She stiffened at first, then relaxed her stance a little.

"I'm sorry," Sam whispered. Hallawahan came and sat next to her. She nodded, looking at the bed. Sam watched her, but couldn't think of anything else to say.

"It was supposed to be me." Hallawahan's voice was hoarse, rough. "Amahil was not the pretty one. Azaneem was to choose me." She shook her head. "Amahil couldn't stand the kitchens, couldn't stand the work. She slipped away and seduced the master, and he chose her instead. But he never forgot she was a slave. He never treated her like the chosen ones." She looked at Sam. "She killed the child because she could not lose her patrons for so long."

Sam bit her lip. She touched Hallawahan's hand. "I don't know how yet, but we can help. My friends and I. You don't have to live like this. You don't have to die like this."

Hallawahan's stare was stony, closed off. Sam searched for something reassuring to say. Hallawahan's gaze shifted. Sam turned around. Daniel walked in, led by the little girl.

"Pah," Hallawahan spat. "Turqumadi."

The girl glared at Hallawahan, capable of giving an evil eye in direct proportion to the older woman's, apparently. Daniel awkwardly patted the girl's head. "Now, now. Play nicely." He came and sat next to Sam. "I guess they know each other." Hallawahan started speaking sharply to the child, who spoke sharply back.

Sam looked from one to the other. "I guess so. Daniel, this is Hallawahan. She's told me some things ..."

"Yes," Daniel said quietly. Sam glanced at him. No, he didn't really need to know the details. Whatever he knew was probably just as bad. Daniel gestured at the girl. "This is Turqumadi. She helped me find Jack."

"You found the Colonel? Oh, Daniel, I found Teal'c!" She described how she had found him, and how she had failed to find him again. "Although I think I could find my way from here," she said.

"We need to find our stuff, too. Weapons and the GDO if nothing else." Daniel leaned forward and touched Hallawahan's arm, interrupting the argument she was having with Turqumadi. He smiled at her evil eye glare, and, Sam noted with bemusement, melted it instantly. "Excuse me," he said. "Would you know of a place where Azaneem would keep our clothes and packs? A place where he would keep things he didn't want anyone to find?"

Hallawahan was silent, thinking. Turqumadi sidled close to Daniel and pressed against his shoulder. "Are you going to leave me?"

Daniel glanced up at the girl, and the look on his face tore Sam's heart, although Turqumadi seemed oblivious to it. Then again, Sam had seen it before, and Turqumadi hadn't. "Not yet," he assured her. "Not yet."

"I think I know of a place," Hallawahan said slowly. She looked at Sam. "Amahil knew of it. She told me about it. There will be guards there."

"If you can help me distract a guard long enough so I can grab his zat gun, that won't be a problem," Sam said. She opened her hand to reveal the knife she'd been carrying.

Hallawahan took the knife. "I can distract the guard," she said firmly. Sam had no doubt that Hallawahan wasn't bothered at all by the prospect of attacking a guard. Hallawahan stood up and helped Sam to her feet.

"Daniel, stay here and wait for us," Sam said. "I'll get our gear, then we'll go find Teal'c."

Daniel started to get up. "I should come with you, too." Sam shook her head.

"No. If we get caught, we need someone to let Colonel O'Neill know what's happened. Stay here. We'll be back as soon as we can." Hallawahan checked the hallway and left. Sam smiled at Daniel, hoping it was reassuring, although he didn't look very reassured, and followed her.

\-----

The inhabitants of this planet were not worthy of contempt. Teal'c flicked his gaze over the three guards watching him. They carried zatnikatels. That meant the Goa'uld were also here. No doubt he was being kept as a prize for Apophis. But the ones who had captured him had had to chain him, and not before he had inflicted many injuries on them. They were weak. They were beneath contempt.

He was, however, still chained, and had not been able to break the shackles yet. He needed to free himself so he could rescue his friends. He had seen Major Carter being dragged away by guards. She was wearing a short tunic and not her uniform. Their clothes and weapons had no doubt been confiscated, and they were in danger. They were in need of his help.

He strained against his shackles again. The metal was very strong. Naquahdah, perhaps, or trinium, or an alloy. One of the guards smirked at him, a weak gesture meant to convey the guard's sense of superiority over his captive. Teal'c was not impressed and ignored it.

Another guard paced over to the doorway. Teal'c watched him stand and check the hall. As he watched, the man was surrounded by the blue beams of a zatnikatel and collapsed. Major Carter stepped forth, followed closely by Daniel Jackson, a woman he did not know, and a girl child he did not know. Major Carter and the woman carried zatnikatels. Daniel Jackson carried Teal'c's staff weapon. The girl child carried O'Neill's MP-5.

Major Carter and the woman easily took care of the other guards. The woman was a good warrior, like Major Carter. Daniel Jackson entered the room and handed Teal'c the staff weapon. Daniel Jackson searched the guards and found an object which he held up and inspected.

"Key?" he asked Major Carter. Major Carter shrugged, the human gesture of uncertainty.

Daniel Jackson stood and examined Teal'c's shackles while Major Carter, the woman, and the girl child watched the hallway. Daniel Jackson's efforts to use the object were not immediately successful.

"Stand back," Teal'c warned him. Daniel Jackson stood back. Teal'c primed his staff weapon and edged it back, its tip touching the chain holding his left arm.

"Wait, Teal'c, no," Daniel Jackson said. He hurried forward and attempted to use the object again. This time he was successful. The shackle opened and Teal'c's arm was free. Daniel Jackson unlocked the rest of the shackles. As he did so, two more guards arrived at the room. Major Carter and the woman disabled them with their zatnikatels. The girl child fired O'Neill's MP-5 into their limp bodies. They were now dead, or very seriously injured. Teal'c observed the girl child's grin and thought that she, too, was a warrior.

\-----

Azaneem was losing his patience. Too damn bad. He snarled in frustration and sent this last batch of slave girls away. Jack reclined on the bed and fiddled with the belt to his robe. Azaneem sat on the end of the bed -- damned presumptuous of him, in Jack's opinion -- and gulped down some wine.

"Those were my most beautiful girls. All that is left are the old ones, the ones close to dying." Azaneem cast Jack a cold, angry glare. "You are doing this on purpose. To try me."

"You just figured that out, did you?"

Azaneem threw his empty wine cup to the floor. "Pah. You forget, I have your friends. They will die. Your lover will die," he sneered. "Unless you cooperate."

Lover? Who was he talking about? Jack frowned at his belt. Oh, right. Daniel.

"Then you better bring in the old ones, buddy, because these just aren't my type." Jack tried to sound bored. Not so far from the truth, anyway. Jack's type included the words 'free will' in the description. Above the shapely naked bodies, all he saw was a bunch of hope-drained stares. Or worse, the greedy looks of women who saw him as their last chance. Last chance for what, he wondered. Give them a kid, and then what? The kid lives to become another slave. He looked up at Azaneem and drew his hand into his sleeve, fingering the knife Daniel had given him.

Azaneem snorted in disgust. "Perhaps it is not the girls who are the problem. You are old--"

"Hey, pal, easy on the 'old' stuff."

"--and strong, but you favor the men, yes?"

_Oh, lord, remind me to strangle Daniel sometime._

"Perhaps this is the problem," said Azaneem. He smiled. Oilily, if that was a word. "We can take care of that. Your lover can be with you as you sire the strong babies for Azaneem's house. He can participate. If that is what it takes."

Jack stood up and paced away. "Oh, boy, that is _so_ not what it takes, believe me." He stopped and faced Azaneem. "Why don't you just give up? Let people do what they want to do. Let me and my friends leave."

Azaneem's smile disappeared. "I need strong babies. That it why I will not let you leave."

"Strong babies for what? Has it ever occurred to you that the reason why everyone's dying so young isn't because they're weak, it's because you work them to death? Ever think of that?"

Azaneem was quiet. Jack waited. Was it really sinking in? Azaneem stood up and walked over to the doorway.

"Guards, bring the girls from the southern wing," he commanded. Jack cursed and kicked the bed.

"Jack!"

Jack blinked and turned around. Daniel threw him his MP-5 and shoved Maddy into the room. Jack caught gun and girl and watched as Carter and Teal'c took out the guards with zats and Teal'c's staff weapon.

"Teal'c," he called, relieved. Teal'c spared a moment to bow his head, then butted an oncoming guard with the tail end of his staff. Gotta love the guy.

"Where's Azaneem?" he asked, jogging up to join the fight. Carter caught his eye and glanced to the side. He followed her line of sight. "Christ."

A woman he'd never seen before was staddling Azaneem's chest, lifting her arm and plunging one of those small kitchen knives into Azaneem's throat. Blood gurgled out from the gaping wound. Azaneem stared sightlessly at the ceiling. Sam moved to the woman and laid a hand on her arm.

"Hallawahan, he's dead," she said quietly. The woman stabbed again, stood up straight, and wiped her hands on her tunic. She had a hard, cold face. Jack felt a chill race down his spine.

"Okay, kids, time to go. Carter, got the GDO?" She held it up. "Good. Teal'c, you okay? Ready to run?"

"I am unharmed."

"Great." He checked on Daniel. "A couple of zats for the road? Can't hurt. No clothes, I guess?"

Carter shook her head. "No, sir. We think Azaneem took out all the stuff that looked valuable and threw away the clothes."

"And my glasses," Daniel muttered.

"What about the backpacks?" Jack asked.

Carter nodded. "We found those. We have them hidden in a room, not far from here."

"Good." Jack went back into the room, found his pants and quickly pulled them on under the robes. The robes were in the way, so he shrugged them off, and hopped into his boots. As he tied up the laces, he called over to Carter, "How much explosive power are we carrying?"

He noticed Daniel's look backwards. Carter simply frowned. "Um, not much, sir. Six grenades, a couple of packs of C-4. Timing mechanism."

"Enough to blow the gate?" He pulled on his t-shirt.

Carter glanced from Daniel to Teal'c. "No, I don't think so, sir."

"Damn," he muttered. A touch on his shoulder startled him. He turned around. Maddy stood there, staring at him, wide-eyed, lost.

"You're leaving," she said. "Leaving me."

Oh, hell. He took her hand. "I have to, Maddy. It'll be okay."

"Uh, Jack ..."

"Not now, Daniel. I'm saying good-bye to Maddy."

"Colonel, make it short because it looks like every guard in the place is heading our way," Carter said above a zat blast.

Jack looked into Maddy's dark, round eyes. "Goddammit." He scooped her up in one arm, readied his MP-5 in the other, and ran into the hall. "Hold on," he told her. "And duck when I tell you to duck."

"Uh, Jack?" Daniel fell into place at his elbow. Jack glanced over.

"It's okay. We have to come back anyway."

Teal'c fired off a shot with his staff weapon. Carter caught up with them. "Come back? Why, sir?"

"To seal the gate," he said grimly.

\-----

"Hey, Doc."

Janet Fraiser looked up from the jigsaw puzzle on the table. Colonel O'Neill entered the VIP room, hands in pockets, and looked around. "Where's Mackenzie?"

"He just left," she said, and turned back to the puzzle, picking up a piece and handing it to Maddy.

"Hello, Maddy," O'Neill said, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backwards, chairback facing his chest. Maddy ignored him and tested the piece in various spots on the puzzle. "Still the silent treatment, huh?"

Janet watched him. He was trying to appear non-chalant, but she could tell it was an act. Years of taking care of the Colonel, and the people he cared for, had honed her instincts for Jack's poker face. Besides, Maddy wasn't like the others: Meron, Cassandra, the poor little boy from Rhitalia.

"Well," said Jack, "that's too bad, because I brought you something." He unbuttoned a pocket and pulled out a long, thin, yellow-wrapped bar.

"Colonel," Janet said warningly.

O'Neill looked at her, unashamed. "Hey, all they eat on that damn planet is vegetables, just ask Carter. One Butterfinger isn't going to kill her."

Janet raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?" But she didn't stop him from sliding the candy bar in front of Maddy. Maddy dropped her puzzle piece and picked up the candy, turning it over in her hands.

"It's called a Butterfinger," Jack told her. "It's what we call yummy."

"It's what we call sickeningly sweet and completely unhealthy," murmured Janet. Jack gave her disapproving look and showed Maddy how to unwrap it. Maddy bit into it and grimaced as she chewed.

"Like it?" he asked.

She swallowed. "Sweet." She smiled at him. Janet held her breath, and watched that smile melt Jack's heart. Janet touched Jack's arm.

"Colonel, perhaps we should talk outside." She stood up and waited by the door.

Jack smiled at Maddy and got up from the chair. Maddy grinned up at him, pulled her shirt down to expose one tiny breast, and wiggled her eyebrows. Jack turned to follow Janet, face tight.

"What did Mackenzie say?" he asked as soon as the door shut behind them.

Janet knew to condense it down to the Reader's Digest version, and not to sugar-coat it. "What we expected, based on Daniel's reports from the planet, and what we've observed while she's been here. Her method of expressing herself is overtly sexual, and would not be acceptable behavior in her peer group on Earth. In fact, here, it could lead to tragic consequences. At the minimum, drug treatments to inhibit her, or institutionalization."

Jack clenched his jaw. "That sounds pretty severe, don't you think? She's just a little girl, doc. She can be taught how to behave, how to fit in."

Janet shook her head and sighed. "No, Colonel, she's not just a little girl. She's an adolescent who grew up in a society completely based on sex as trade, completely surrounded by sexual behavior and participation in it by all members of that society." She took a breath and released it. She wished she didn't have to tell him this. "Including herself."

Jack glanced at her sharply, then turned away, scuffed his heel against the floor, reached the wall and hit it with one fist. His shoulders sagged. She wondered if he had expected this all along, and had just been hoping it wasn't true. He leaned against the wall and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"But there's gotta be something ... Counseling, stuff like that. Kids can survive that kind of abuse, grow up to be okay, if they get help, right?"

"Yes, they can." Janet slid her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. "But this isn't exactly the same situation. In her culture, her behavior is acceptable, and what happened to her is acceptable. She isn't experiencing any trauma, because where she's from, it's not a traumatic situation. In order to counsel her here, we would first have to make her see her experiences as traumatic, make her see herself as a victim." She looked at him steadily. "Colonel, that could damage her more than anything that's already been done to her. She's a strong young woman. She doesn't behave to our norms, but among her own people ..."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. I get the message, doc."

She watched him turn away and head down the hall.

\-----

"Well, this makes a change. Again."

Sam smiled grimly at the Colonel's poor joke and looked around. The flowers and palm trees were still there, but the fountain wasn't running. She and Teal'c set down the trunk of explosives as the event horizon disengaged. The Colonel stepped down from the gate and let go of Maddy's hand.

"Here you go, Maddy. Home again, just like I said."

Maddy crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a cold stare. The same evil eye she'd seen Maddy give Hallawahan. Sam shuddered and opened the trunk. They all knew why Maddy was unhappy with Jack, and it wasn't because he had brought her home. Sam couldn't even imagine how Jack was dealing with this.

Colonel O'Neill sat down on the fountain, took his cap off and rubbed his hair. Teal'c started laying charges around the gate. Maddy stood like a statue, keeping her evil eye on Jack.

"Oh, look," Daniel said. Sam glanced up. "The sign's gone." He pointed to an empty space by the brick road. Sam handed Teal'c another charge, watching as Daniel dug into his backpack and pulled out his field glasses. He scanned the road ahead. "The other signs are gone, too." Sam pulled the timing mechanism out of the trunk and checked it. "Oh. Wait, wait," Daniel's voice drifted to them. He had wandered a little farther on the road. "Someone's coming."

The Colonel was on his feet instantly. "Hurry it up. Daniel, get your ass back here _now._ Teal'c, charges all laid?"

"They are."

"Good. Daniel, what the hell did I just say?" Oh boy, that was the Colonel's serious command bark. Sam cast a worried glance at Daniel and willed him to come back. She fed Teal'c more wire from the timer.

The Colonel stood next to the DHD. He looked from the stargate back to Daniel and shook his head. "Dammit, Daniel!" But his next bark was cut off by Maddy. She stood in front of him, scowling up at him. Sam looked way, turned her attention to setting the timer. When she chanced another look, the Colonel had his hands on Maddy's shoulders.

"Go home, Maddy. Everything will be okay. Remember what we talked about on Earth, right?" Maddy nodded. "Just remember that. You're a beautiful, strong girl. You can do anything. You'll be okay." Sam sucked in a breath and watched Teal'c bring the last of the wire into place.

"Wait, wait." Daniel jogged back to them, hat flying off his head, secured only by its neck-cord.

"Wait for what?" the Colonel snapped at him. Daniel lifted his eyebrows and turned back to the road. Hallawahan and a few others were jogging towards them, not far behind.

"I think," Daniel said, "we may have started a revolution." The Colonel frowned at him but didn't say anything. Sam stepped down from the gate.

"Hallawahan," she said, smiling as the woman came up to her and took her hands.

"Sam. It's good you came back. We never said goodbye before." Sam remembered the last she'd seen of Hallawahan, standing over Azaneem's body, his blood dripping from her hands.

A group of people clustered behind Hallawahan. Sam recognized the tall, thin man as the one who had first promised her Daniel was near. Maddy apparently recognized him, too. She ran up to him and took his hand and started talking to him rapidly. Daniel made some introductions and Hallawahan moved away, going over to Colonel O'Neill.

"I am Hallawahan," she said. "You helped me slay Azaneem. I give my thanks."

"Hey, no problem. You helped us. Least we could do." He smiled at her. Hallawahan gave him a cold, unimpressed look.

"We have brought down most of the masters," she said.

Colonel O'Neill raised an eyebrow. "That was quick."

Hallawahan smiled coldly. "It doesn't take much for desperate people to seize their chance. Besides, there is still much work to do, and much fighting. But because of you, we have started an end to slavery."

"Hey, well--"

Jack was cut off by Daniel. "Hallawahan, have your people thought about what to do next? What will happen to you when the masters are all gone?"

"Daniel," Jack muttered warningly.

Hallawahan looked at Sam, then her gaze travelled along the gate area, to the Colonel and Daniel. "You want to destroy the gate." It was not a question.

"We think it may be the only way to keep the Goa'uld from coming back," said Jack. "And anyone else who has made your planet into their little pleasure retreat."

"But we won't blow it up if you don't want us to," Daniel put in, ignoring the Colonel's hard stare. Sam winced.

Hallawahan walked back to her people. They talked briefly. Hallawahan looked at Sam, but Sam couldn't read her closed, solemn expression. Hallawahan nodded once. "You may." She motioned for her followers to turn around, and they started walking back to the city. Only Maddy hung back, to wave at Daniel and Jack. Daniel smiled and waved back. Jack lifted his hand, but Sam couldn't tell if he smiled or not. She finished programming the timer.

They waited by the gate as Daniel dialed home. "Well, what do you think?" the Colonel asked.

"I think your decision is wise, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "The woman Hallawahan is a good warrior, and a leader among her kind. Without the interference of the Goa'uld, this world may prosper."

Sam looked around at the desert. Prosper at what?

\-----

Daniel rubbed his eyes under his glasses and yawned. He checked his watch, decided to give it another hour, then call it quits for the night. He underlined the next set of hieroglyphics on the photograph and flipped the pages of his dictionary.

"Hey."

"Hey," Daniel said without looking up as he marked his place in the dictionary. Jack strolled over to the desk and hovered by his shoulder.

"Anything interesting?"

Daniel glanced up at him. "Not yet, no."

Jack nodded and paced over to the computer, gave the bookshelves a few desultory glances, pulled up a stool and sat down, picking up a small clay pot and squinting at the markings on it. Daniel held his pencil with both hands. "Something you want?"

"Nah."

Daniel waited, held his breath when Jack nearly dropped the clay pot, exhaled when Jack set it down safely on the table. Jack frowned and examined the other things on the table: an arrowhead, a jar lid, a statuette of a falcon, a wooden box inlaid with trinium. "Do you think," Jack started, hesitated while he turned the arrowhead over in his fingers, "do you think they'll be okay? Do you think Maddy will be okay?"

Daniel sat back and tossed his pencil into the gutter of the dictionary. "I think they have a chance. More than they had before."

"A chance," Jack repeated quietly, setting the arrowhead aside. "I guess that's something."

Daniel watched him. "She's better off there," he said after a few moments. He wondered if he believed that, deep down. The question was, better off than what? And the problem was, there had never been a "than what" in Turqumadi's life to compare it to. A few days in SGC under constant supervision didn't count. So there was no answer, just a neat platitude to make his friend feel better, because right now, that was all he could do.

Jack slid off the stool and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah," he said, giving the office another once-over. "Hey, you putting in the long hours again tonight? I was heading to the vending machine. Bring you something? Those little chocolate doughnuts?" He lifted his eyebrows questioningly.

Daniel held up his mug. "Thanks. I have my coffee. I'm set."

"Oh. Okay." Jack glanced back once as he slowly walked to the door. Daniel picked up his pencil and stared at it.

"Hey, Jack," he called out. "Maybe just one pack of those little doughnuts, okay?" He waited a moment, staring at the little clay pot on the table.

"You got it," Jack's voice drifted back from the hallway.

(the end)


End file.
